September 16 – 19, 2019 Hyatt Regency Kyiv, Ukraine
During 5 days, 44 high profile events featuring 130 speakers from all over the world were hosted by the 8th international media forum KYIV MEDIA WEEK, which took place in the capital of Ukraine on September 17-21.
If all KMW events were held non-stop, they would last more than two days – 60 hours. Although, there were breaks obviously, the KMW participants – 850 representatives from 39 countries– still needed 5,500 cups of coffee to sustain such a rich informational marathon.
KMW 2018 was opened by Virginia Mouseler, co-founder of the analytical company The Wit, specializing in content research worldwide. For her, whose Fresh TV presentations about trends in shows and series at MIPCOM and MIPTV markets in Cannes are always packed, this was the first visit to Kyiv. ‘I enjoyed so much this first visit to KMW and to Kyiv as well,– says Virginia. – I found the event friendly, welcoming, very intense and very well-orchestrated in terms of content diversity, content sources, inspiration and people. I just loved it.’
And the diversity – both thematic and geographic – is truly KMW’s pride. 3 large delegations from Moldova, China and Korea attended the media forum. Each of them consisted of more than 20 people, representing at least 10 leading media companies and state authorities of their countries.
The Asian region – one of the most dynamic markets for content production and distribution – opens up great opportunities for mutually beneficial cooperation. KMW participants discussed this cooperation with representatives of the region’s media industry. In particular, with Albert Parkfrom the Korean company CJ ENM. ‘We came to KYIV MEDIA WEEK in order to learn more about uniqueness of Ukrainian media market, its channel businesses and seek business opportunities for future cooperation,– says Mr. Park. – We find Ukraine to be a great strategic media hub for entering into various CIS territories given Ukraine's top-notch production ability for a relatively modest budget as well as its influence in reaching out to neighbouring countries in Eastern Europe. We are confident that Korean formats which are gaining tremendous attention throughout the world can work really well here in Ukraine and we would like to see more of our scripts travel to Ukraine. Additionally, we could consider introducing very best of Ukrainian series as well as high quality animation series into South Korean market given the high production value of Ukrainian contents. Looking forward, CJ ENM will look forward to increase collaboration in the form of content licensing, co-production & investment as well as strategic partnership on a corporate level.’
And for the first time at KMW, China was featured in a separate wide program Focus on China, organized by the National Radio and Television Administration of the People's Republic of China, together with the The National Council of Television and Radio Broadcasting of Ukraine, with the participation of Shanghai Media Group, iFORMATS and Ukrainian Motion Picture Association.
Prodcos and distributors from China, Korea, Moldova – and many other countries, including the USA, Australia, the UK, Germany, India, Turkey, Poland,France,etc. – also took part in the traditional KMW Content Market.
The KMW 2018 program can be divided into three major thematic line-ups. The first was dedicated to series, organized with the support of Ukraine TV Channel. It included master classes and case studies from profile experts from different countries. In particular, Karni Ziv, Head of Drama and Comedy at the leading Israeli media company Keshet Broadcasting, spoke about how to gain interest on the global market with local formats. The Icelandic actor and producer, Gisli Orn Gardarsson (co-founder of Vesturport) and Norwegian Anders Tangen (CEO of Viafilm), famous for world-known scripted hits like Lillehammer and Norsemen. ‘I’ve met young professionals of the local industry and I see a potential to be able to produce in Kyiv and Ukraine’,– says Anders.
Also, in the course of the thematic line-up, there was a traditional drama screening. And in total, KMW attendees watched 50 premier and trendy TV shows of all genres from all over the world.
The second thematic KMW line-up was devoted to film business and organized with the support of the Ukrainian State Film Agency. Among the events included in it, we can mention the case study by Skady Lis, producer and founder of the German company Getaway Pictures, who shared exclusive insights about the features of search for financing of co-production. ‘I really enjoyed my two days at Kyiv Media Week, and even in that short time made a lot of great new contacts with Ukrainian filmmakers. I also found the party for the speakers and attendees very fruitful and enjoyed them a lot. Already now, just shortly after the event, it already looks as if there will be new collaborations three projects!’, – comments Skady.
It is also worth mentioning the workshop by Neil Landau, the screenwriter of Melrose Place and UCLA professor, who told about how modern movies invade the traditional movie territory, and the profile panel discussion ‘Promo and theatrical distribution. Win-win strategy’, in the course of which Ukrainian producers, cinematographers and cinema representatives discussed what needs to be done to ensure that the box office success of Ukrainian releases is not an exception but a rule.
And the third thematic line-up of KMW’s conference program can be called stellar. This series of events, organized with the support of Vancouver Film School, included keynotes by world-renowned speakers. Namely, inspiration talk ‘Showrunner. Do you dare?’ by Michael Baser – screenwriter and showrunner who has worked with companies like 20th Century Fox, Universal Pictures, Disney, Columbia TriStar and Warner Bros., and is now Head of the Writing for Film, Television + Games Department at Vancouver Film School. Also a meeting with the legend of Hollywood casting Margery Simkin: it was she, in particular, picking up actors for Avatarand its sequels, as well as for the last year's drama hit American Gods. In addition, a Skype conference with director Steve Miner, known for the legendary horror Friday the 13th. Part II, took place at KMW 2018.
By the way, among the speakers of KMW 2018 there were 3 full members of The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
But, of course, the three thematic line-ups did not limit the huge program of the media forum. With the support of the Knowledge partner of KMW, the international media consultancy K7 Media, there were events devoted to FAANGS trends (content for digital giants – Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google and Snapchat) and kids’ content. Also backed by CEETV, there was a panel discussion devoted to the original formats from the CEE, featuring TV industry representatives from Serbia, Lithuania and Ukraine. And the long-standing partners of KMW – the Industrial Television Committee and ‘Clear Sky’ initiative – traditionally held their large-scale conferences ‘Television as Business’ and ‘Fighting piracy in Ukraine: What’s done – What to do. 2018’ in the course of KMW.
Also, in the course of the media forum the final round of the 4th SMALL WORLD. BIG IDEAS formats competition was held again. Partners of the event – Small World IFT, MIPCOM, KIY AVIA and Citrus – supported the creative idea of the winner with valuable prizes that will help in the development of his format and entering the international market.
In addition, the media forum included a number of events that allowed to look closely at the entire Ukrainian market of audiovisual content. Namely, the events dedicated to the support of creative industries in Ukraine and the development of Ukrainian animation, the introduction of Pay-TV in the country, the current state of the radio market, the fight against piracy, etc. They brought together representatives of the media business and the state at one table.
The media forum was backed by more than 45 partners, and the KMW organizers – Media Resources Management (MRM) – are very grateful to each of them for the support. It allowed to gather so many fantastic world-class speakers in one place, discuss a huge number of important issues for the industry, open new directions of international cooperation and bring lots of insights for both the global and local media market.
Victoria Yarmoshchuk, CEO of MRM says: ‘We are proud that KMW gathered record number of outstanding speakers and participants. We will continue working hard to move our industry forward. See you at KYIV MEDIA WEEK 2019!’.
The 9th international media forum KYIV MEDIA WEEK will be held on September 16-20, 2019 in Kyiv. Follow the updates on www.kyivmediaweek.com and KMW’s official Facebook page.
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